Articles

From 2001 to 2017, SVG has had a Minister of Finance who is not a university graduate in Accounts or Finance. The consequence has been catastrophic for our country and people.

SVG has a very high debt level; there are high levels of unemployment, crime and poverty; there’s very little money circulating the country; businesses have the worst sales in 40 years and have been forced to lay-off staff or close down; thousands of households are too poor to have mains water and electricity; and thousands of poor households are unable to feed themselves adequately.

The finances of our country are in such a bad state, that the ULP regime has been forced to beg the UK government for debt relief twice, in 2002 and in 2017. Financially, and economically, our country is in a very bad situation.

In November 2017, a new of Minister of Finance was appointed, but like the old Minister of Finance, he is not a university graduate in Accounts or Finance. The people of SVG have been thrown out of the frying pan into the fire, going from one financially incompetent person to another financially incompetent person.

We cannot afford to carry on with another Minister of Finance who is not a university graduate in Accounts nor Finance. If we do, our country will become even more financially unstable and there will be higher levels of debt, unemployment, crime, poverty and businesses closing down.

The ULP regime has 8 elected members and four senators, but not one of this 12 person government is a university graduate in Accounts or Finance.

SVG needs a Vincentian Minister of Finance who is a university graduate in Accounts and Finance.

In April 2015, the ULP regime leadership told us that their plan is for SVG to be so heavily indebted, that at best, the Debt to GDP ratio would still be very high at 60 per cent in 2030.

The ULP regime plans to keep SVG financially unstable and with high levels of unemployment, crime, poverty and businesses closing down until at least 2030. This is not good for our people and highlights the need for SVG to have a Vincentian Minister of Finance that is a university graduate in both Accounts and Finance.

The Argyle airport was meant to be the saviour of our country, but instead the airport is a burden on the country’s finances, costing $20 million a year just to run it. It is a drain on our economy and one only needs to look around the country to see that we still have high levels of unemployment, crime, poverty and businesses closing down.

According to Warrant Officer Ivan O’Neal, who has a BSc (hons) degree in Accounts and Finance and Economics from Oxford Brookes University, England, competent financial management of our country’s finances is essential to create a strong economy.

The Swedish economy is performing well in comparison with other Western nations. Since the crisis of the 1990s, successive Swedish governments have been balancing the budget, and have continued to do so, even in the wake of the 2007–2008 global financial crisis.

In contrast, under the financially incompetent ULP regime, SVG has had 17 years of budgets with fiscal deficits.

Sweden introduced a ceiling for government expenditure and accompanied this with a ‘surplus goal’ for the government budget. These reforms have helped ensure that high debt doesn’t accumulate. The Swedish government’s competent management of its country’s finances has meant that Sweden remains in the top league of fiscally responsible countries in Europe.

While governments with large budget deficits (such as SVG) carry out austerity measures by increasing taxes and cutting public spending, Sweden has avoided these difficulties. In fact, taxes in Sweden have actually been lowered and Sweden has been able to continually to invest in areas like healthcare, education and research, instead of having to cut heavily or underfund in these areas like in SVG.

SVG needs a change of government and a Vincentian Minister of Finance who is a university graduate in both Accounts and Finance.